


The Bat Family Chronicles

by Tinni



Series: Batman Shorts [1]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Bat Brothers, Bat Family, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-08
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-01-06 21:16:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 15,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18396518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tinni/pseuds/Tinni
Summary: A collection of stories set in a timeline where Jason came into Bruce's care when he was seven, while Dick was still Robin and Damian started living with Bruce since he was an infant!Chapter 1: Garden Party -Six-year-old Tim is forced by his mother to befriend Bruce Wayne's new ward, Jason ToddChapter 2: Food -You don't go from living below the poverty line to being super rich without developing some issues. In Jason's case, dinner time is a psychological battle!Chapter 3: Visit -Tim visits JasonChapter 4: Snow Day -During a snow day, Tim walks to Wayne ManorChapter 5: Sleepover -Jason has a sleepoverChapter 6: Breakfast with Ollie -Bruce likes teasing OliverChapter 7: Drama -A drama-filled day at the Wayne Manor!Chapter 8: More friends -Damian doesn't have enough friends!Chapter 9: Loud -Tim stugglesChapter 10: Birthday -It's Jason's birthday!Chapter 11: Benign neglect -“Do the rich know where their kids are doing?”Chapter 12: Illness -Flu strikesChapter 13: The Long Awaited Visit -  Final visit





	1. Garden Party

**Author's Note:**

> I have a lot of random ideas with the Batfamily. They aren't full fic worthy because they don't have the conflict, the resolution, or character growth bits. They are just random "what if" ideas. But I figured I would start to write a few of them out and put them out in the wild as shorts!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Janet wants Tim to befriend Jason...

Newspapers around the world closed, but the Gotham Gazette was as popular as ever. Why? Because the editor of the Gotham Gazette understood what people wanted from their local paper: names, names, and names! They wanted to see their names, their neighbours' names, their friends, their families more importantly to some, their enemies. The Wayne’s were not exactly enemies to the Drakes, but they certainly weren’t friends.

Wayne Industries and Drake Industries had some overlapping interests, especially around logistics technology. Drake Industries had carved out a niche, but Wayne Industries was poised to move in, that would be bad news for the Drakes. So Janet was desperate to find a way to cooperate instead of competing.

So it was that she was pouring over her phone, reading the latest news on the Wayne’s in Gotham Gazette as the family gathered for Breakfast. Tim ate his fruit bowl and herbal tea in silence. He was only six, but already he knew not to speak unless spoken to and his mother he doubted would speak to him. He had gathered enough to know that her mind was currently full of the Waynes. As for his father, he wasn’t sure what he was up to, but he was scrolling through his phone, and quietly smiling to himself.

“Bruce Wayne adopted a street urchin!” Janet Drake suddenly spoke up.

“Street urchin? You did not just say that Janet,” Jack replied with a laugh, “When are we living? The 18th Century? More importantly, come and have a look at this beauty, have you seen such a perfect Kouros?”

Janet took one glance at Jack’s tablet and declared, “It’s a fake, now pay attention,” she went on to read from her phone, “In a shocking move, Bruce Wayne has stepped forward to adopt one Jason Peter Todd. The troubled seven-year-old was apprehended by police trying to break into the Leslie Thompkin’s clinic. When the police tried to get in touch with the boy's parents, they discovered that his father had died during the recent Blackgate riots and his mother had overdosed while the boy was in police custody. At Dr Thompkin’s request, Bruce Wayne initially agreed to take in the boy as a temporary foster carer. Mr Wayne, of course, is a registered foster carer from the time he first fostered and later adopted Dick Grayson,” Janet stopped reading, “The rest of the article is about how Wayne also has a toddler, who is supposed to be his biological son but whose mother remains unknown and other unimportant crap.”

“I am not sure why any of it is important,” Jack replied, frowning at his screen, “Are you sure the statue is a fake? The provenance looks solid.”

“Of course it’s fake! That thing has never been in the ground,” snapped Janet, “And Wayne’s newly acquired urchin is important because we can use him to establish a relationship with him!”

“How?”

“He’s seven,” Janel said as if it was obvious, “And Timmy is six.”

Suddenly, Tim sat upright; it didn’t take a genius to figure out what his mother was planning. He had to befriend Jason Todd.

“But he’s a juvenile delinquent!” his father protested, “He’s going to corrupt Timmy. That is if he doesn’t rob Timmy blind. Street boys grow-up fast you know.”

“Obviously I’ll investigate more before letting him near Timmy. But I don’t think Wayne would adopt him if he was juvie bound,” Janet pointed out.

“Good point,” replied Jack, at that moment he lost all interest in the conversation and returned his full attention to browsing the latest artefacts to be up for auction.

Tim stared at his mother, hoping she would look towards him. He wanted to tell her he wasn’t comfortable trying to befriend Jason Todd. But she never once looked at him. Instead, she started thinking out loud, planning an egg hunt for Easter and left the table shortly after to finalise her plans. Tim sighed and resigned himself to his fate, whatever it might be.

* * *

 

It was amazing how quickly Janet was able to get everything together. Tim was sure much of his parent’s social circle had accepted out of the novelty of it all. His parents frequently threw parties, but all of them had previously been adult oriented. So it was a bit of surprise to get an invite from Jack and Janet Drake that included children. The social set got bored easily, so most probably said yes just to see what Janet could do.

Tim thought his mother did pretty well. She had performers, a petting zoo and a very extensively planned egg hunt. But all her planning would be for nothing if the Waynes didn’t show up. Bruce Wayne had indicated that he would be attending. But it was not unheard of for him to cancel last minute. So Janet fretted about nervously and tried to her best to chit chat with the others while waiting for her true objective to arrive.

As for Tim, he tried to practice speaking with kids by approaching the other children. But he could not sustain the conversation for long with any of them and quickly retreated to a corner to just observe the others play.

Finally, Bruce Wayne arrived with his three kids, plus another red-headed kid that Tim didn’t recognise. At once, Janet retrieved Tim and marched him to greet the guests, “Bruce! So nice of you to make it. This must little Damian,” she cooed at the toddler in Bruce’s arm.

The toddler gave her an appraising look before turning away and burying his face in his father’s neck, “Dami’s a little shy,” Dick Grayson piped-up, “But he’s looking forward to the animals.”

“You must be Dick,” said Janet, “And this must be your friend Wally.”

“Thank you for letting me join in,” Wally said politely.

Tim later found out that Wally was Dick’s best friend and was sleeping over the night before. So Bruce had called to see if Wally could come to the party as well. Janet didn’t have a problem with Wally coming. In fact, she was elated because that meant Dick would be busy. Leaving Jason alone and needing a companion.

“But of course! And you must be Jason,” she zeroed in on a dark-haired child, “This is my son, Tim. Tim, why don’t you show Jason around?”

Tim nodded, “Umm… this way,” he said, pointing vaguely towards the petting zoo. That seemed like a good place to start.

“Wanna go see the animals, Dami?” Jason asked. Damian nodded and reached for his brother.

“Let’s go!” Damian said once he was secure in Jason’s arm.

“You like animals?” Tim asked.

“I had a dog, he was the best,” Jason replied.

“You don’t have a dog anymore?” Tim wondered.

“My mom sold my dog to the Penguin. I was trying to get money to get him back, but I was too late. I was too late for everything,” replied Jason cryptically and sadly, “But we have Ace,” Jason added a little bit more cheerfully, “But he’s a family dog, not my dog.”

“I am not allowed pets,” Tim admitted, “But petting zoos are nice.”

Jason nodded and turned his attention to Damian, making sure he got a chance to play with all the animals that were suitable given his age. While Damian played, Tim and Jason talked. Tim found that Jason was much easier to relate to than the other kids. Because just like Tim, Jason’s world had mostly been filled with adults and navigating around adult emotions.

Jason also seemed to be a big reader, because “Libraries are free to hang out in,” he was nice and not a bully as Tim was half expecting it.

Jason also seemed to enjoy Tim’s company because he readily invited Tim to come and visit him in Wayne manor before he left, long before Janet could work-up to setting up a playdate at Wayne Manor. Tim knew he was just playing a part in his mother’s scheme and maybe it was wrong to try and be friends when he knew all his parents wanted was to get a deal with Wayne Industries. But it would nice to have a friend…

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who don't know, Jason was given a new origin in N52 where instead of being caught trying to steal the tires of the Batmobile, he was caught stealing of Leslie Tompkin's clinic. It was a terrible idea, but thankfully, in canon, it was retconned in Red Hood Rebirth. Jason is now back to meeting Batman while trying to steal his tires. But in this world, where Bruce is Batman and Dick is Robin, but he also got Damian and Jason much earlier than canon, I figured I would use the Jason breaks into Leslie's clinic again as a non-cape way Jason enters Bruce's life.


	2. Food

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason has lunch

“Master Jason, dinner is ready,” Alfred let him know.

He was in the library, reading. It was his favourite thing to do. He didn’t want to leave, and if he asked Alfred, he knew the Butler would bring him his dinner here. But Dr Quinzel was specific with her instructions. Jason should try to eat with his new family and get used to how things were now.

So he put away his book and joined the rest of the family in the dining room. As soon as he entered he knew he had made a terrible mistake. Wally West was over again, and that meant the table was laid out to accommodate a speedster. There was so much food! How were they going to finish it all?

Dr Quinzel had told him it’s because he was always hungry and poor that he thought he had to eat as soon as there was food and finish everything. Rich people didn’t have to eat everything at once. The food could be put away, and since the power stayed on, the food didn’t spoil. Even if the whole fridge spoilt, Jason knew that Bruce would not have any problems getting more food. It wasn’t like it used to be when Jason was with his parents. When food was always scarce and hunger common. That didn’t mean, however, that Jason didn’t get anxious and distress at dinner time.

Jason sat down at the opposite side of the table from Wally, Damian and Dick, who was sitting between his best friend and youngest brother. None of them had issues with food unless you counted Wally’s bottomless pit of a stomach. They ate happily as Jason eyed the food with weariness. The pile was disappearing quickly, thanks to Wally. But that did nothing but make Jason’s anxiety rise even higher.

“Would you like me to serve you?” thank god for Alfred!

Alfred proceeded to put an appropriate portion of the pasta and meatballs on Jason’s plate. Now all Jason had to do is eat slowly, as his therapists recommended and make sure he only went for seconds if he really wanted too.

When he first got to the Manor, he routinely ate until he was in pain. Bruce let him, thinking it was normal and Jason was just a big eater. Jason was underweight, so when he started to gain weight, it was seen as a good thing. But then Leslie suggested Jason begin seeing a psychiatrist. The best one in town was Huge Strange. But Dr Strange was too busy to take most of Jason’s sessions himself. So had assigned Dr Harleen Frances Quinzel as his primary therapist. Jason had no complaints, and he liked Quinzel.

It was with Dr Quinzel that he realised a lot of what he was doing was because he was expecting life to be bad. He ate until it hurt because he thought the food would disappear. He couldn’t sleep in the first room Bruce gave him because it was larger than the whole apartment he had shared with his parents. He hoarded things like chocolates and other packaged food because he was expecting to go hungry. Because that had been his reality. Hunger and uncertainty had been his friends. But in the Manor, he didn’t have to worry about anything so basic as food.

“Would you like seconds, Master Jason?” asked Alfred.

Jason looked at the near-empty dishes and felt a familiar fear of imminent hunger, but, “There is more in the kitchen,” because of course there was!

“I think I might just have the rest of the meatballs and remaining salad.”

“Leave room for dessert!” Dick said as Alfred gathered the leftover salad and the remaining few meatballs onto Jason’s plate.

“Yeah, we are going to try ice creams from the East and West!” declared Wally.

“Isn’t that abusing your powers for personal gain?” wondered Jason.

“Nay! Uncle Barry says that we are allowed to have fun. No fun means more chances for us to go crazy and become Supervillains! So I am going to run and get us a mountain of ice cream!”

“Ice cream!” Damian joined in, “I want strawberry!”

Jason smiled, yeah, he didn’t have to worry about food in the Manor, “Cookies & Cream!” Maybe soon, Jason could enjoy the abundance of food without fear and anxiety.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of the things that never get touched on in comics is Jason's background as an impoverished kid. That's not unusual because poverty is never portrayed well in most media. Just the other day I was reading Red Hood & the Outlaws volume 4, and they showed a Flashback from when Jason was living with his junky mother. The scene had multiple candles! Like what? They were poor! One candle! They would lite one candle! Not close to a dozen! So I figured I would write a dabble exploring at least one issue Jason might have had as he transitioned from being a kid living below the poverty line to suddenly being Gotham royalty! 
> 
> As for Harley and Hugo not being villains, depending on the timeline, they spent years being just normal psychiatrists before going full villains. So in this timeline, Harley hasn't encountered the Joker yet, and Hugo Strange hasn't revealed his true colours/hasn't been caught being unethical yet.


	3. Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim visits Jason

Bruce Wayne wasn’t going to be there, so his mother wasn’t coming. But she wanted Tim to visit Jason during the weekend and start working his way into the family enough that Jack and Janet would have an excuse to invite Bruce to dinner. Since Jason had already invited Tim during the Easter garden party, all Tim had to do is call and arrange a time.

So, about three weeks after the garden party, Tim and his nanny made the short drive over to Wayne Manor. They were met at the door by Jason and the Wayne family butler Alfred.

“Thanks for coming,” Jason said, it sounded a bit rehearsed, “Alfred arranged for morning tea for your nanny, himself and Damian’s nanny. Ah, you don’t have any problems with disabled people, right ma’am?” he asked her bluntly.

“Ah, no, no of course not,” she chimed in, “But I didn’t know little Damian was disabled.”

“He’s not,” corrected Alfred, “But his nanny is mute. Also, please refrain from shaking her hands as she doesn’t like being touched by strangers. Also, please try to not speak too loudly. She gets anxious.”

“Oh, wow,” replied the Nanny, “How does she manage a baby?”

“She’s perfectly at peace when it’s just her and Master Damian. She’s also comfortable around Master Jason. Master Dick, I am afraid, is a bit too old now for her to be perfectly at ease. Adults have treated her very badly, I am afraid. But she’s doing her best to make her way through the world. But come along now. The tea is getting cold.”

“What do you want to do?” Jason asked after the adults left the boys standing in the hallway.

“I don’t know, what do you like doing on weekends?” Tim wondered.

“About now I would be reading in my room or the library,” replied Jason.

“Let’s go to your room then,” suggested Tim.

Jason led the way, “I am on the second floor, near Alfred,” he replied, “Dick and Damian have rooms near Bruce on the first floor. The library is also on the first floor, along with Bruce’s study. But my family is very private. So don’t go snooping!”

“My parents don’t like me going into their bedroom either,” Tim assured.

“Oh Bruce doesn’t mind if we go into his bedroom,” Jason replied, “We have slumber parties there all the time!”

“What about when he brings friends home?” Tim wondered, he had read the gossip column as part of his research into the Wayne family. He needed to make sure he behaved in a manner that made him an acceptable companion for Jason after all.

“Bruce has an apartment in Wayne Tower for those sort of things,” Jason replied, “Only Selina comes to the manor, but she’s special! Bruce is going to marry her one day. He’s just being a stubborn and mean, refusing to give us Cat mom!”

“Cat mom?”

“Selina loves cats. She takes in strays and finds homes for them. She’s going to get me one soon. She wanted to wait until I adjusted to living here,” Jason said quickly, but Tim noticed the moment of confusion and distress. It made Tim think that Jason wasn’t supposed to call Selina “cat mom” in public.

They got to Jason’s room, and Jason proudly threw the door open. It was much, much smaller then Tim was expecting. It had a single bed, a small desk and a chair facing the window. The wall opposite the bed had a bookshelf full of books plus a plant and a lamp. There was also a comfy looking beanbag sofa. It was cosy, and after a moment, Tim found the room comfortable.

However, his initial shock at the size of the room must have shown on his face because he noticed that Jason had gone a bit defensive, “Bruce gave me a room next to him,” he replied to the question Tim would never voice, “I preferred something smaller.”

“I believe you,” Tim wasn’t sure those were the right words, but he ploughed ahead, “I mean, look at your bed!”

Jason had a bed shaped like the Hogwarth’s express. All his bed linen was also Harry Potter themed. Even his lamp was a special Harry Potter themed one. The cupboard under the stairs the room was not, even if the size of it might have given the less observant individual the wrong impression.

Jason smiled, “It’s great. Come on,” he climbed on the bed and gestured Tim to do so too, “I know what we can do,” there was the second set of wall mounted shelves and cupboards above Jason’s bed. He opened one and took out a still shrinkwrapped boardgame, “I bought it with my allowance,” he said, “I never got allowance before. I didn’t even know what it was exactly. But Dick explained. Anyway, want to help me play?”

“Sure!” They played until Alfred came to fetch them for a late lunch. After that, Tim had to go home. As the car pulled away from Wayne Manor, Tim found himself regretting having to go. He might only be here to further his mother’s agenda, but he was enjoying himself and wished he could stay a little longer in Jason’s cosy little room.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The idea that Jason might not know what allowance came from [a fan art on Tumblr](https://passively-passionate.tumblr.com/post/184149759865/the-concept-of-an-allowance-is-lost-on-jason). 
> 
> As for Damian's nanny, I think it's pretty dumb to think the Alfred is the only person who ever works in Wayne Manor. In the recent animated movies, Alfred confirmed they have gardeners coming in regularly to look after the Manor grounds. I suspect that Alfred also gets in cleaning services at least once a month to help with keeping the manor as a whole clean. If a maid is told don't go into rooms x, y and z. That's not actually very surprising and wouldn't raise a maid's suspicion. So all Alfred would have to say is, "Don't go into bedrooms and living room," which is where the entrance to the Batcave is and they could still help him clean without compromising Bruce's secret identity.
> 
> Plus its canon that Bruce does give jobs to victims of his rogue's gallery and also henchmen looking to turn over a new leaf. So I figured Bruce wouldn't hesitate to get a stay at home nanny. But he would either get someone who was not very curious and content to just spend her days with Damian or someone he can trust enough to reveal his identity too. I leave it to you to whether the nanny knows Bruce is Batman or not!


	4. Snow Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During a snow day, Tim walks to Wayne Manor

“The biggest mistake I ever made was marrying you!” Janet screamed.

“Well, we can undo it anytime you want, Janet!” Jack screamed back.

“Fuck you!”

That was Tim’s cue to leave. He wasn’t even supposed to be home. He was supposed to be at school, but it was a snow day. It wasn’t supposed to be a stressful day. When he woke up in the winter wonderland, he was happy. He had planned to make himself some hot chocolate, get some marshmallow and sit down to work on his current project. He was building a racing track, complete with cars, from parts.

When Tim made his way downstairs, he found his nanny and her new boyfriend passed out surrounded by empty wine bottles. He thought he spied a few white lines on the table in front of them. He had looked them up on the internet after the first he found his nanny like this. He knew it was cocaine, but he didn’t care. His current nanny was good at her job most of the time. But occasionally, when her boyfriend stayed the night, he would wake up to find her passed out after spending the night drinking and snorting. He was scared the first time it happened. But he had adjusted. After all, it wasn’t like he couldn’t take care of himself.

However, that morning, even as Tim was making himself a delicious mug of hot chocolate. His parents returned home, three days early. They had flown in the night before on the last flight to land before all flights were grounded. But they spent the night downtown, attending a gala thrown by Bruce Wayne, which had been the reason they had scrambled to return. Then they spent the night at a hotel as it was late and the road conditions were not ideal, even if they had wanted to drive back to the manor.

His parents did not expect to find a strange man in their house. They did not expect to find the nanny passed out, for cocaine to be in the premises with their young son or for their son to be fending for himself when the nanny was supposed to be looking after him. Jack and Janet were not the best of parents, but they weren’t the worst. They had fully expected their nanny to a good reliable professional. She was not a good reliable professional.

The screaming had started when Jack and Janet fired the nanny on the spot. They threatened to call the police, and they would have too if the nanny did not leave quickly and quietly after she cleaned up after herself of course. Once the nanny was dealt with, they turned on each other.

The nanny was Jack’s favourite. But Jack pointed out that Janet had done the background check, and besides, she’s the one who kept them travelling. Janet disputed this, and it escalated from there.

Tim knew the pattern. His parents would eventually calm down and go about their day as if nothing had happened. Neither would address the real issues in their marriage. A new nanny would be found, and life would return to what passed for normal in the Drake house. But that would take hours. Tim didn’t want to stick around for that. So he left.

He had a digital camera. It was considered a child’s toy, but it did take real pictures. Whenever his parents fought, he took his camera and went for a circuit around the Drake property. He loved taking pictures, flowers, birds, trees. Everything and anything that caught his fancy or helped him practice the photography principles he was trying to learn.

Today, he decided to take the camera and leave the Drake property. Slowly but surely he made his way towards Wayne Manor. He didn’t know if Jason would want to see him. But he figured there was no harm in trying. Even if Alfred turned him away, by the time he walked back home, his parents would have been done fighting.

* * *

 

“Oh my!” exclaimed Alfred as soon as he saw Tim, “Master Tim, you are positively shivering!” he ushered Tim inside and pushed him towards a heating vent, “Where is Miss Claire? Do not tell me you walked all the way here!”

“Claire was fired,” Tim replied honestly, “My parents returned home to find her conduct unbecoming of a professional,” Tim carefully parroted the words he had heard his mother use, “My parents were discussing what went wrong with her,” not exactly a lie, “So I thought I would give them some space.”

“I see,” the initial shock of finding a shivering six-year-old wearing off, Alfred’s emotions were back under his tight control, making it impossible for Tim to get a read on him, “Well come along. Let’s get you warmed up. I was just about to prepare a chocolate fondue for the young masters. I am sure they will be happy to have you join them.”

They were happy for Tim to join them. Especially since Jason was a bit upset about something. “They think Bruce does bad things to us,” Jason explained in a whisper as if he didn’t want Dick and Damian, who were busy choosing a movie to watch, to hear, after Tim had been there for a bit, quietly passing him a tablet.

Jason had quite a few blogs, discussion threads and even a few webpages from reputable media organisations opened. The content of these sites and threads ranged from mild sarcasm questioning the true motivation of Bruce Wayne for taking in Dick and Jason, especially Jason, to downright accusations of molestation and worse.

“Dick says that people are stupid and mean, and we should ignore it,” Jason whispered to him as he overcoated a piece of apple with chocolate.

“He’s right,” Tim replied.

“But it’s not true!” Jason protested.

“I know, you know, but even if you put a camera in here 24/7, some people will still think bad things. It’s not you or Mr Wayne. It’s them!”

Jason nodded, “I just don’t want Damian to read that shit.”

“It’s okay, and we’ll make sure Damian understands,” Tim replied, that seemed to cheer Jason up.

Dick and Damian returned with Dumbo, which was both a good choice and a terrible one because Damian loved the movie, but he also cried a lot. But Dick was good at comforting Damian. Jason too, in his own way.

“You are a good brother,” Tim whispered to Jason when the movie finished, “Dick is too. Damian is going to be fine. No matter what stupid things people write about his dad!”

Jason smiled. Tim was happy. It was a good snow day, even if he faced his parent's wrath once he turned home. But Tim was careful. He didn’t say anything that might embarrass his parents. Maybe he shouldn’t have come to Wayne Manor by himself. But he was sure his mother could make that out to be a good thing. He wasn’t worse for the walk, after all. But whatever happened once he got home, and he was glad he came to spend the day with his friends.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope some people are still enjoying this! Thanks for the comments so far!


	5. Sleepover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason has a sleepover that Oliver decides to crash!

As soon as it was Summer break, Dick got in the Titans jet he kept in the Batcave and flew away. So eager was he to go join his friends that he forgot to say goodbye to Jason and Damian. He only remembered when he was halfway to Titans Tower, so called to apologise for not saying goodbye before taking off.

 

Jason didn’t mind. Dick was popular with lots of friends. He would take off for the summer too if he had Dick’s group of friends. But it wasn’t all bad. Bruce was giving Jason extra training and Jason was finally feeling as he was getting a hang of things. Foolishly, Jason made a joke about taking over Robin while Dick was away. Bruce proceeded to take it seriously and overreacting, changing the security protocols to make sure Jason couldn’t enter the cave while Bruce was not there.

 

Then Bruce promptly left, taking Damian and the Bat-plane. Jason didn’t know who Damian’s mother was because no one wanted to tell him. It was always, “We’ll introduce her if she ever comes to the manor. But until then, she’s not someone you need to know about.” Jason thought it was very rude but not like there was much he could do about it.

 

What all this meant was that one week into Jason’s holiday, Jason and Alfred were the only ones left in the manor. But Alfred made a point of filling Jason’s days with activities, especially at the Youth Community Centre that was run by the Martha Wayne Foundation. The centre was normally for the less fortunate. Jason spent a lot of time there when he was still living in Crime Alley with his mother. But the centre operated programs for the affluent kids during summer. It was one way they raised money but also, they hoped that by exposing the kids of Gotham’s elite to those less fortunate, they would help raise better Gotham citizens in the future.

 

Jason thought they were wasting their time. The kids stayed in their cliques from what he could see. Jason himself mostly hung out from the kids from the Narrows and East End, especially a boy from the Narrows named Duke Thomas. Tim was the only Gotham Heights rich kid who followed Jason into the poor kids' group. The only other Gotham Heights kid Jason spoke to was Penny Davenport, the daughter of J. Devlin Davenport, one of Bruce’s friends. Not a friend who knew he was Batman but a friend nonetheless.

 

“You should host a sleepover!” Penny suggested during the second week of the school holidays, “Nobody is home right? Except for your butler, it’s the perfect time to have a sleepover at your house!”

 

“I don’t know about that,” Jason replied, “I don’t think Alfred would approve and besides which, who would I invite except you and Tim?”

 

“What about your Narrows friends?” Penny wondered.

 

“Maybe Duke,” Jason said after thinking about it for a bit, “His family could afford the gas to Wayne Manor and back.”

 

Penny blinked, “What do you mean?”

 

“Most of my friends aren’t rolling in dough, Penny,” Jason pointed out, “Gas costs money and the drive from Narrows or East End to Wayne Manor is a long one. A sleepover at Wayne Manor won’t be fun and good times for these families.”

 

“I never thought about that,” replied Penny, “Okay, then it can be me, Tim, Duke and we’ll each invite one friend who we’ll bring with us!”

 

“That could work, but I’ll have to ask Alfred.”

 

“I don’t have anyone I want to invite,” Tim replied.

 

“Don’t you have cousins or something?” wondered Penny.

 

“Both my parents are only children,” Tim replied.

 

“Then I’ll bring two friends!” replied Penny, a bit annoyed, “I’ll invite Avery Powers, she’s a cousin on my mother’s side and Astrid Arkham. She’s a weirdo that’s way too into knights and stuff. But she’s fun to have around.”

 

“I’ll ask Alfred and if he gives the go ahead, I’ll ask Duke,” replied Jason, “But I wouldn't get my hopes up. I don’t think Bruce will let us have a sleepover.”

 

Jason was wrong, Bruce was happy to let Jason have a sleepover, or so Alfred told him. Bruce hadn’t called since he left for wherever Damian’s mom lived. Dick called twice but was clearly having too much fun with his friends to remember Jason. Honestly, Jason was a little hurt about being forgotten and would have been more hurt if not for Tim, Penny and Duke. As it was, he was happy with his friends and looking forward to his sleepover.

 

However, things started to go wrong on the day of the sleepover. That morning, as Jason and Alfred prepared food for the sleepover, they were interrupted by the unannounced visit of Oliver Queen. Oliver was a “friend” of Bruce Wayne. Bruce knew Oliver was the Green Arrow, with whom the Batman was allied, as members of the Justice League. But the Green Arrow did not know who Batman was under the mask.

 

Jason knew about Oliver being Green Arrow because Dick found the situation hilarious and had let him in on the joke. Batman knew the secret identities of every Justice League member but only Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Flash knew that Bruce Wayne was Batman. All three were more like family friends and not just JL colleagues. Oliver was unique in that, on paper, Oliver Queen and Bruce Wayne were friends. But that seemed to motivate Bruce to keep his secret from Olie as a sort of an elaborate prank!

 

So it was a bit odd to suddenly have Oliver turn up at the manor asking about Bruce just before noon. He did not seem disappointed to not catch him either, he seemed content to munch on Alfred’s freshly baked cookies while finishing his tea before heading back, “These cookies are delicious.”

 

“Thank you, Master Jason and I have spent most of the morning baking them,” replied Alfred politely.

 

“Oh? Any special occasion?” he directed the question to Jason, who had to play host to Ollie on account of being the only person home.

 

“I am having a sleepover with my friends,” Jason replied.

 

“Really?” Oliver perked up, something Jason found suspicious, “I don’t suppose you have room for one more.”

 

“You want to join us?” Jason was getting really suspicious now.

 

Oliver laughed, “No, no! I recently started looking after a boy not much older than yourself, Roy Harper.”

 

Jason knew about Speedy, he wasn't supposed to know about Speedy. So he said instead, “You adopted someone?”

 

“Oh no, no, nothing like that! I am too irresponsible for something that heavy,” replied Oliver, “But I am his big brother through the Big Brothers and Big Sisters program. I brought him with me because he had never been outside of Seattle. But he’s pretty bored since I have had to work. I’ll have to work tonight too. So, if you don’t mind, I would love for him to hang out with kids his own age.”

 

“I don’t mind,” Jason said slowly, “But why didn’t you bring Roy with you now?”

 

“I was going to but he had a big night and slept in. Plus, I wasn’t sure if you or Dick would be here. Bruce mentioned that he liked keep you both busy,” Oliver said, Jason thought he was being honest. But he was still overall very suspicious.

Duke Thomas brought his friend from school, Riko Sheridan. Penny brought her friends Astrid and Avery as she said she would. Tim brought himself and when Oliver turned up to drop off Roy, Jason was extremely glad to have him so that the boys weren’t outnumbered by the girls.

 

Roy was about nine, making him the oldest of the kids there. But he didn’t seem to mind hanging with young kids and were happy to play boardgames, watch Disney movies and eat copious amounts of junk food.

 

Sleep came to the kids in stages. Astrid and Riko were first to call it quits. Falling asleep where they were sitting as they were watching the Lion King. After the movie finished, Alfred gently but firmly prompted all the girls to head upstairs to the bedrooms he had prepared for them. Tim was a light sleeper and opted to head upstairs and take Jason’s room. So in the end, Duke, Roy and Jason bunked down in the drawing room and fell asleep talking to each other. 

 

Or so Jason thought! But half an hour after they all fell asleep, something woke Jason up. He wasn’t sure what happened until he saw that Roy was on the move. Jason lay still and watched as Roy slipped out. Was he going to the toilet? Jason got up and followed.

 

Roy was clearly sneaking. He snuck upstairs and slipped into Bruce’s study. By the time Jason made a dramatic entrance and turned on the lights, Roy had already let the Green Arrow in through the window.

 

“Alfred!” he screamed, not even bothering to give Oliver an opening to talk himself out of it.

 

To Jason’s surprise, Oliver stuck around, and when Alfred entered, Green Arrow seemed to go into what passed for his intimidation mode. “What is Wayne hiding?” he demanded of Alfred.

 

Jason burst out laughing, that seemed to surprised Oliver, “This is no laughing matter!” Oliver declared, “I know Wayne Industries has been poisoning children.”

 

Jason started laughing harder and only stopped when he felt a looming presence behind him. He knew who it was even before he turned, “Batman,” Jason said trying to stop his laughter, he didn’t want to seem too familiar given Green Arrow didn’t know Batman’s secret identity.

 

“I will take over from here,” he told Jason and Alfred. 

 

Jason dearly wanted to hang around but Alfred made him leave. Roy didn’t return. Jason was a little unhappy about that. He was beginning to like Speedy. But it wasn’t a total loss! When the kids met for breakfast, Damian was there. 

 

Jason had a lot of fun introducing Damian to his friends. Plus, later, when the family was alone. Bruce apologised for the lack of contact and promised to do something special just with Jason. How could Jason not be happy about that!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made up Penny and Avery. But Penny's father, J. Devlin Davenport is a canon character from the 90s who was a Gotham elite and a good friend of both Bruce Wayne and Jack Drake. Avery Powers is supposed to be a child of the Powers family, which is a canon Gotham elite family that was part of the Court of the Owls. Astrid Arkham, of course, has just been introduced by Tomasi in Detective Comics and Duke and Riko are DC canon characters, too! I included Duke because "Roll Call" is a short story where Jason as Red Hood trains Duke as he's starting off being The Signal. So I thought it would be cool to bring that dynamic into a sleepover story.
> 
> I was going to do something more dramatic with Oliver in this short but I sort of lost my train of thought. But that's okay! This is about scraps and unfinished ideas!


	6. Breakfast with Ollie

Two days after Jason’s sleepover, Oliver Queen was back, this time with Roy Harper. Apparently, neither Arrows knew Bruce was Batman but, “Batman” seems to have told “Bruce Wayne” that Oliver Queen was the Green Arrow.

 

“I cannot believe the Bat betrayed my trust and told you who I am!” Oliver snapped.

 

“And I cannot believe that you broke into my house, in my absence!” Bruce bite back, “You could have scarred my son for life! And for what? Because you thought I allowed Wayne Labs to test our developments on homeless kids? Is that what you think of me, Oliver! I thought you were my friend!”

 

“I am, I am,” Oliver insisted, “But I have had a hard time with trust lately. I can’t go into details. But the closest people to me have screwed me over recently. So, so, when it looked like you might be hiding a deep dark secret, I couldn’t help but expect the worst. But I am glad to know I was wrong. Please believe me.”

 

“I believe you,” Bruce assured Ollie, “I am still hurt, though”

 

Jason ate his breakfast quietly, doing his best not to laugh. Bruce was clearly having a lot of fun at Oliver’s expanse. Jason wondered how far it was going to go.

 

“So, you guys know Batman,” Roy said, trying to start a conversation, “That’s pretty cool.”

 

“Dad funds Batman,” Damian repeated the half-truth he had been taught to say, “Because Dad believes in Batman.”

 

“That’s cool, that’s cool,’ replied Roy, “So what he’s like? You know, as a person.”

 

Well, if Bruce was going to pretend not to be Batman, Jason was going to have some fun too, “He’s mean! He wanted to put me in a home run by a criminal who was using kids to do her evil bidding.”

 

“What!” demanded a stunned Oliver as Bruce facepalmed, actually, physically facepalmed.

 

“I am sure,” Bruce emphasised, “Batman did not know Ma Gunn was a criminal.”

 

“Not the point!” replied Jason smugly. Before adding, mostly because Damian was looking scared and confused, “But it’s cool. Once he realised Ma Gunn’s true colours, he stopped insisting Bruce put me in a home!” he gave Bruce a pointed look.

 

“Batman never wanted to put you in a home,” Bruce replied as he rolled his eyes, “He was simply concerned that I might not be the best person to raise you.”

 

“Well, he’s still a judgemental jerk!” declared Jason with a grin.

 

Bruce smiled, and maybe he would have said something more, but just at that moment, there was a loud woosh sound from just outside breakfast room window, followed by the doorbell ringing.

 

“You are expecting guests?” asked Oliver.

 

Bruce smiled as he turned to Damian, “Hey buddy, guess who’s here?”

 

“Who?” Damian wondered.

 

“Uncle Superman!” Bruce declared as Superman walked in.

 

“Uncle Supes!” declared Jason and Damian.

 

“Hi Bruce, Hi Oliver, Hi Jason, Hi Damian,” he greeted before turning to Roy, “I don’t think I met you before.”

 

“I am Roy Harper, Oliver’s new partner, Speedy!” Roy explained enthusiastically.

 

“Aren’t you a bit young?”

 

“I don’t let him do anything too dangerous,” protested Oliver, “Besides, I never heard you say anything against Robin!”

 

“You haven’t heard me say anything against Robin,” replied Superman, “That doesn’t mean I haven’t chewed Batman out for Robin. But anyway, ready to go buddy?” he asked of Damian.

 

“Yes!”

 

“Ah…” Oliver didn’t seem to know what was going on.

 

“Superman is babysitting Damian,” Bruce replied matter of factly.

 

Oliver blinked, “Superman babysits your son?”

 

“Sometimes,” Superman said, “It’s fun. Besides, I have someone close to me who is the same age as Damian. So it’s a bit of playdate.”

 

“Oh, okay,” Oliver still seemed confused.

 

“So where is the other kid?” Roy asked of Jason.

 

Before Jason could decide how to reply, Bruce chimed in, “He’s with Kid Flash. They are in a summer camp of sorts.”

 

“Your eldest is in a summer camp with Kid Flash?” demanded Oliver.

 

“Yes.”

 

“Wow, Bruce! You sure know a lot of superheroes,” replied Oliver, “Batman introduce you to them all?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“But you never bothered letting me know! Bruce, I am hurt!”

 

“Not as hurt as I was when you thought I was poisoning kids!”

 

“Fair, call it eve…”

 

“Wait a minute!” Roy interrupted loudly, “Mr Wayne, are you… Batman?”

 

“Of course he’s not!” Oliver interjected, “Right, Bruce. Bruce?”

 

Jason couldn’t hold in any longer and burst out laughing. Superman smiled as he collected Damian and his bags, “I’ll have him back tomorrow. Safe patrol tonight, Bat!”

 

“You… you... you are Batman!” repeated Oliver stunned.

 

“And you are more gullible than a 4th grader,” replied Bruce, “Now, If you don’t mind. I promised Jason I would spend the day just with him.”

 

Jason and Bruce had a great day together, pretending to be tourists to Gotham. Later that week, Dick contacted Oliver as Robin and offered to have Speedy join the Titans for the summer, and all was right with the world!

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love making fun of Ollie!


	7. Family Drama

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A drama-filled day at the Wayne Manor!

“I want a cow!” screamed Damian.

“No,” Bruce replied firmly and clearly.

“Jon has a cow!”

“Jon lives on a farm.”

“I want to live on a farm,” replied Damian, “No, better, I want to live in a Zoo! Buy Gotham Zoo so we can move there!”

“Damian, no! We are not moving to Gotham zoo,” came the exasperated reply.

Damian screeched, “I hate you! I want to go live with my Grandfather! He has lots of animals!”

“No Damian, we have talked about this,” all humour had disappeared from Bruce’s tone now, “Your grandfather is not a nice person, and I am not going to let you live with him!”

“I hate you!” Damian screamed again before running away from the breakfast table, crying.

Bruce sighed, “How long do you think I should give him before he calms down?” he wondered out loud.

“Are you asking me?” wondered Jason, “If you are, the answer is, until Dick comes back.”

“Dick’s not coming for three more days.”

“That should be enough time for Damian cry out his disappointment at not moving to a zoo.”

Bruce sighed, “I’ll speak with him in a few hours.”

“Fine! Don’t listen to me,” teased Jason, but he hadn’t been serious about letting Damian stew. So he didn’t mind that Bruce ignored his unhelpful suggestion.

Just as Jason thought the day was returning to normal, a perplexed Alfred entered the room, “Master Bruce, there is a couple at the door claiming to be Master Jason’s aunt and uncle from his mother’s side.”

Jason blinked, “That’s not… “ he stopped himself, “I mean, it’s possible because my mom did have siblings. But she left her family ages ago. Why would any of them be here now?”

“We can speak with them and find out, but only if you want to.”

Jason decided he did want to.

* * *

The couple had brought proof, pictures, copies of birth certificates of Jason’s mother and other little things that on the surface looked legitimate. They were also quick to assure Bruce that they weren’t interested in money or anything like that.

“Believe it or now,” Jason’s uncle was saying, “My parents weren’t poor. We aren’t rich but we grew-up comfortably middle class. My sister when to Gotham Public Academy and my parents did their best to do right by her. But she was addicted to bad choices. Living was too hard for her. If she had a medical condition, none of the doctors my parents took her to found it. She wasn’t depressed or otherwise mentally ill, she simply wasn’t interested in school, in a job or anything like that. I don’t think she ever figured out what she wanted. I think if she didn’t meet Willis Todd, got pregnant and left with him, I am certain she would have become homeless by choice.”

“Why did you try to find me after she died?” Jason demanded.

“I didn’t know she died until recently,” his uncle admitted, “We tried to stay in touch with her after she left with Willis, but she wasn’t interested. Catherine thought we had wronged her someone, but she never could say how.”

“It’s true,” her aunt chimed in, “I was in and around the family a long time before we got married as I lived on the same street. I would hang out with Catherine sometimes. We weren’t friends exactly, but we were comfortable acquaintances. I asked her many times why she was so angry with her parents. The only thing she ever said was that she hated their rules. But your grandparents didn’t have crazy rules or anything like that. They wanted their daughter home by 8 PM on school nights, 10 PM on weekends, negotiable for later based on what she had on. They also didn’t give her as much allowance as she wanted, but they encouraged her to work if she needed more money. But even the light-handed parenting of your grandparents was too much for her. I don’t know what she wanted. I feel like she was born in the wrong circumstance, but I don’t know what was right for her. I don’t think she knew either and sadly, now she never will.”

“So why are you here now?” wondered Bruce.

“My mom is dying,” explained Jason’s uncle, “My father isn’t doing too well either. So they wanted to find Catherine and make peace with her if they could. It took us some time because my parents moved away from Gotham shortly after Cathrine left and made clear she wanted nothing to do with us. I was already at college on the West Coast and had no plans to return. So we had to hire a private investigator to uncover that she overdosed, Willis died in Blackgate and that you had been adopted. I am sorry we weren’t there to take you in, but I hope you’ll at least agree to visit your grandparents once.”

Jason didn’t know what to say. He felt overwhelmed. Bruce must have sensed that, because he jumped in with, “This is all a bit much. But we will discuss with it at, and I’ll let you know what Jason decides. What is the best way to reach you?”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“I think you should go speak to Damian,” Jason replied, “I am going to take Ace for a walk.”

* * *

 

Jason walked around the manor, looking for Ace. He wasn’t looking too hard. He just needed to move his body. He wasn’t full of energy or anything. But he couldn’t bear the thought of sitting still. His Uncle and Aunt weren’t wrong about his mom. She found living hard for no reason, then she had to live. Get up in the morning, make food, eat, go to work or study or clean and cook or whatever. She found all those things hard. If she was depressed or had some sort of mental health issues, by the time Jason was born, their family was too poor to afford psychologists. Maybe if his mother had Dr Quinzel, she would have gotten better. But as it was, she was gone.

“Jason,” Bruce interrupted his musing frantically, “Have you seen Damian?”

“No,” replied Jason, all thoughts of his mother’s family vanishing in an instant, “I can’t find Ace either.”

“No!”

Bruce rushed down to the Batcave and sure enough. The security cameras recorded Damian leaving with his elephant shaped backpack and Ace. Bruce and Jason raced out into the manor grounds and started calling for Damian. Bruce had mobilised autonomous drones to scour both the manor grounds and the surrounding area.

Thankfully, Bruce’s watch chimed to indicate one of the drones had found Damian. He had made it two miles out of the Manor gates. Bruce rushed to the garage, Jason tried to follow, but Bruce was too fast and didn’t wait for Jason before zipping out with the nearest car. So Jason decided to wait at the entrance for Bruce to return.

He did soon enough with a screaming, crying upset Damian. “I want to go to the zoo! I want to see the elephants!”

Bruce looked at the end of his ropes. So Jason quickly took Damian from him and took him to Damian’s room to try and calm down. It took a while, but Damian finally fell asleep.

“Thanks,” Bruce said when he came into the room afterwards.

“Hey, I am not Dick, but I am a student of his patented hug into submission technique.”

Bruce smiled, “What am I going to do with you, buddy?” he asked the sleeping Damian.

“Get him more pets?”

“I am not going to spoil him.”

“Not now, obviously,” replied, “Punish him, but he’s not going to be happy with Ace alone. Ace isn’t even his! He’s going to need dogs, cats, birds and a cow!”

“I am not getting a cow, but I will consider talking to Selina to get him a cat in a month or so.”

“He’ll be happy with that!”

“What about you? It was a big day for you too.”

“It didn’t seem as big after Damian,” replied Jason honestly, “Can I take Damian to see my mom’s parents?”

“Sure, do you want me to come with you or do you want Alfred?” asked Bruce.

“Alfred,” replied Jason, “You are too intimidating.”

“Okay, buddy, we’ll do that!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So who Jason's mom is changed throughout his history. But as of N52, Jason's mom is Catherine Elizabeth who, according to Red Hood & Outlaws N52 #1, was born relatively well off. Don't think she was remotely rich but comfortably middle class seemed accurate. But she loved trouble. So I went with that and also, as far as I could tell from reading Red Hood during N52 and Rebirth, she didn't have any particular reason to abuse substance. But she abused substances a lot and seemed to need alcohol or drugs to get through life. She seemed to be one of those people who just make bad choices in life. But I wanted to leave open in case someone wanted to read her behaviour as a result of undiagnosed mental health issues.


	8. More friends!

Father was mean! He wouldn’t let Damian have a cow. The only friend Damian had at home was Ace and father kept saying Ace was everybody’s friend! That wasn’t fair! Damian wanted lots of friends. Damian didn’t have any.

 

“Master Damian, Master Jon is on the phone for you,” Alfred interrupted Damian’s brooding carrying in a mobile phone.

 

“Jon!” squealed Damian scrambling off his coach to answer the phone.

 

After spending almost an hour on the phone, Damian was finally free to return to his brooding. Because the father was mean and Damian’s only friend was Ace!

 

“Hey Damian,” Jason called from just outside his open door, “Tim and I are going to make sundaes. Want to join us?”

 

“Yes!” 

 

Damian made a chocolate fudge sundae with Tim and Jason with lots of cookies. But then he was back to brooding because father was mean and wouldn’t let Damian make more friends. All Damian wanted was to live in a zoo, where he could be surrounded by lots of fluffy, furry friends. But no! HIs father had to be mean and cruel and deny him, friends! That’s why he was going to run away, again!

 

His father had caught him the last time but this time, he was going to outsmart his father! He had a plan. He would hide things under his shirt and take them down every day into the Bat cave when he was feeding the bats with Alfred. It was his favourite thing to do. Alfred let him wonder because he was comfortable and familiar with the Batcave. So there was no danger but it would also be knowledge he used to give his father the slip.

 

It would take time, days, but he’ll build up his stash of food and clothes and then, he and ace will slip down while everybody was asleep and they would runaway from his mean, cruel father forever!

 

“Damian?” Father walked in holding a box.

 

“Go away! I am not speaking to you!” Damian declared.

 

Bruce sighed, “Dick’s coming back,” he said as he put the box besides the door.

 

Damian was filled with happiness because Dick was the best! Maybe if Dick spoke to father, and father would let him have more friends. But no! Father was mean and said he couldn’t have a cow. He hated father!

 

“You know buddy, it makes me very sad when you hate me,” Bruce said.

 

That made Damian sad, “Fine, I won’t hate you,” but he was still going to runaway because father was mean and wouldn’t let him have friends.

 

“Why do you want a cow, buddy?”

 

“I want more friends! I only have Ace!” Damian confessed.

 

“Oh? What about Jon?”

 

“He’s different! He’s going to be Superman and I am going to be Batman. So he’s going to be my partner!”   
  


“Superman is my friend.”

 

“But you told Selina he was your col-col…”

 

“Colleague,” father replied, “I was just teasing. Clark is my best friend. Isn’t Jon yours?”

 

“I guess,” replied Damian, uncertain.

 

“Do you miss Jon when he’s not with you?”

 

“Of course!”

 

“Do you like seeing Jon?”

 

“Yes!”

 

“Can you tell Jon anything and everything?”

 

“Of course!”

 

Father smiled, “See! Jon is your best friend!”

 

“But I still only have two friends! I want more!”

 

“What about your brothers?”

 

“Brothers are brothers! They can’t be friends! Besides, Richard isn’t even here! He hasn’t been here forever!” Damian declared, “My only friends are Ace and Jon!”

 

“Dick and Jason will be very hurt if you tell them they aren’t your friends, Damian,” Father explained, “Brothers should be friends but aren’t always. Your brothers love you a lot and love hanging out with you. So they are your brother and your friends.”

 

“Oh,” Damian never thought about it that way, “I guess they are my friends. So it’s Ace, Jon, Jason and Richard. Still not enough!”

 

Father smiled, “Why don’t you see what’s in the box?”

 

Damian was confused by he quickly walked over to the box but then hesitated. What could be inside? Then he heard a faint sound that had his heart racing with excitement! He took off the lid and uncovered a cat!

 

“It’s a cat! Father! It’s a cat!” Father was the best after all!

 

“Yes, it’s a cat. Selina found her a few days ago. She got her ready for you. Do you know how to play with a cat for the first time?”

 

“Yes!” said Damian, sitting down, “Selina taught me. You sit down, give the kitty your hand,” he extended his hand, “Then you wait but don’t stare! Because kitty’s get nervous if you stare!”

 

“That’s right, good boy!”

 

Damian spent that next few hours until Dick returned, getting to know his new friend. Who he named Ena after Selina. Then Dick came back.

 

“Hey Damian, look what I got for you from one of my mission!” he held up a small, fluffy red thing, “It’s a Dragon Bat!”

 

“Yay! More friends!”

 

“Dick!”

 

“You're my favourite!” Damian declared to Dick.

 

“You're my favourite too, Li’l D!”

 

So, Damian didn’t have to runaway from home and live in the zoo afterall!


	9. Loud

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim struggles with being loud

There was something wrong with Tim. He always knew he was abnormal and broken. But it wasn’t until he started spending time with the Wayne family that he realised how broken he was. Those were his thoughts as quietly drank his bubble tea as Jason, Dick, and Damian created a ruckus, chewing on popcorn loudly and slurping their bubble teas. They had a switch, Tim realised that they could flick on and off. 

 

Tim was staying at Wayne manor for the next few weeks. Jack and Janet had plans they could not move, or so they claimed. But they also hadn’t found a new Nanny for Tim. The solution his parents had arrived at was to register him as a boarder at his school. But then, unexpectedly, Bruce Wayne had stepped forward and offered to let Tim stay at the Manor. So here he was, the abnormal child.

 

The four of them just visited the museum to mark the opening of a new exhibit funded by Wayne Enterprises. Bruce couldn’t make it. But the boys had gone in his stead. At the event, the boys had been “on”, and that meant they were perfectly quiet and polite. Dick handled the media. Jason kept Damian occupied with both avoiding the media as much as possible. But when forced to interact, they had both handled the press attention like pros.

 

“Bruce got me a lot of training after I first moved to the manor,” Jason had confessed, “It’s annoying, but we don’t need some moron making a mountain out of a molehill because I decided to remind them I came outta crime alley.”

 

At home, the boys were “off”. They were loud but not in a bad way. They were happy. Lots of laughter. They ate crunchy food, made a mess, and neither Alfred nor Bruce told them to stop or be quiet. They did expect them to clean-up after themselves, but that was about it. Tim couldn’t do that, he couldn’t turn off. He wanted to join the others. He wanted to eat loudly, make a mess and not care. But he kept hearing his parents voices in his head, telling him to sit still and be quiet, be a good guest.

 

Even when Tim was alone, he wasn’t “off” as much as Dick, Jason and Damian. He always behaved. It wasn’t a bad thing, but he just wished, he wished, “Don’t you like popcorn?” Damian interrupted his thoughts.

 

“I like popcorn,” Tim replied, “But it’s very loud and messy,” he replied.

 

“Do you have sensory processing issues?” Damian asked. He could be a solemn boy when he wanted to be, “My friend Jon can get overwhelmed with sensory inputs. When that happens, he goes into a special room in his basement. It’s designed to let Jon have a break when he’s feeling overwhelmed. I stay in there with Jon sometimes. When he can bare company and isn’t too overwhelmed. Do you need a break?” Damian wondered.

 

“No, no, I don’t have sensory processing issues,” replied Tim, “I just don’t like eating popcorn in front of people.”

 

“Why?” apparently Jason had been paying attention to their conversation.

 

“Well, it’s loud and messy,” replied Tim.

 

“So? It’s not like you are chewing ice. My dad used to do that. Drove my mom crazy. She would tell him to stop. He would get angry. Soon it would turn into a shouting match, and I was under the table with my dog.”

 

“I... “ Tim started to say, but Damian cut him off.

 

“You had a dog?”

 

“Yes, but my mom sold him a few months before she died for drug money,” Jason replied.

 

“That’s horrible!” Dick said aghast.

 

Jason struggled, “He went to a good family. I got to visit him a few times, even after he was sold. I am not sad about him.”

 

“That’s good,” replied Dick, “But still, if you want a dog of your own. Just let us know, okay?”

 

Jason nodded but then turned back to Tim, “You shouldn’t worry too much about eating too loudly or making a mess. Bruce and Alfred don’t care as long as we clean-up after!”

 

Tim didn’t know what to say, but it Dick didn’t need him to say anything to get what he was thinking, “You know you aren’t a guest, right?”

 

“What?” Tim was confused. Because, of course, he was a guest.

 

“You are going to be here for a while, Tim,” Dick pointed out, “If you think of yourself as a guest, you’ll be uncomfortable, we’ll be uncomfortable, and it just won’t be very fun. So just think of yourself as our brother!”

 

“I can… do that?”

 

“Of course!” Dick said with a grin.

 

“As long as you know who the blood son is, you can be our brother,” Damian interjected.

 

Jason rolled his eyes, “I don’t think anyone is going to forget your Bruce’s bio kid, Dami.”

 

“See that you don’t!” Damian said, doing his best to sound haughty. Jason rolled his eyes again.

 

“He gets a little possessive sometimes,” Dick whispered to Tim, “But it’s all good. Welcome to the family, Tim! Now have some popcorn!”

 

Tim smiled and found himself digging into the popcorn. Maybe he could never be as “off” as the others. But perhaps he could be a bit louder.

 


	10. Birthdays

“Happy birthday to you! Happy birth to you! Happy birthday, Jason! Happy birthday do you!” they all sang together as they gathered around a plate of cupcakes at Wayne Manor’s formal dining room. One of the cupcakes was larger than the rest with chocolate frosting and a single candle.

Jason blew it out as the others cheered. “Thanks, guys!” he said beaming.

The guest list wasn’t long. It consisted of his family plus his friends in the form of Roy Harper, Duke Thomas, and Penny Davenport. Jon Kent and Wally West were also there as Damian and Dick had been allowed to invite their best friends.

“Dig in kids,” Bruce encouraged, “We have to get going soon if we are to make it in time for the performance.”

Jason being the humanities nerd that he was, wanted to see a play for his birthday. But as he talked with Bruce about which play, he wanted to see and where, his request evolved and so Bruce ended-up sponsoring a series of performances of Hamlet, Jason’s favourite play. The various charities, orphanages, as well as various Gotham schools, would make time to bring their young charges to catch a play for free. So Jason would get to share something with other kids, especially those who wouldn’t otherwise get to watch something special. Bruce was proud of how big Jason could think.

It was a great afternoon. Batman had worked overtime to ensure that no rogue would get any ideas. Not that he had to worry. Rogues such as Riddler, Poison Ivy and others had been orphaned kids who had policies against targeting disadvantaged kids or kids events. But others had no scruples. The Joker being the prime example of a rogue who wouldn’t think twice about ruining a play put on for underprivileged kids. Thankfully, the Joker was locked up in Arkham.

So the only “rogue” in attendance was Catwoman, who joined the group at the theatre, as Bruce’s date for the afternoon. Damian saved her a cupcake. But the boy had unlimited access to Selina’s cats. So it was in his best interest to sugar her up.

It was a great afternoon. But then the questions started. “When’s your birthday?” Jon asked Tim.

“July 19th,” replied Tim.

“So it already passed? That’s sucks! I wanted more cake,” Jon said with a pout, but no one replied to Jon as they focused on what Tim had said.

“Wait, that was while you were with us! Why didn’t you say something?” wondered Jason, “We should have celebrated!”

“Mr Wayne asked me, but I didn’t want to make a big deal,” Tim replied.

“Bruce! How could you let us not celebrate!” Jason demanded.

“I was respecting Tim’s wishes,” replied Bruce patiently, “I assumed Tim wanted to wait to celebrate with his parents since they were due back soon.”

That was true. His parents were supposed to be back on the 17th. They were getting in early in the morning, so in theory, they could have spent the whole day together. But the night before his birthday, his parents had called and told him they were delayed. They said they spoke to Bruce, and he was happy to keep Tim for a few days longer. But by then the Wayne family had made other plans for the 17th. So Tim hadn’t mentioned anything.

Of course, his parents didn’t end up coming back at all. They must have worked something out with Bruce because Bruce didn’t ask him when his parents were coming back. Nor did his parents say anything to Tim when they called to check on him once every week. They all went on with their days, which Tim’s birthday going by unacknowledged.

“Well, we should do something!” piped up, Damian, “What did you do with your parents?”

“My mom would organise a big party for all the important people of Gotham when she’s in town. Birthdays are a great excuse to socialise and network,” Tim told him.

“But your friends came to the parties, right?” demanded Damian. He was a smart kid, he could pick-up on what Tim didn’t say.

“I think I went to one of Tim’s parties…” Penny interjected, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. The Wayne’s were giving her a ride back home since her father’s estate was on the way to Wayne Manor.

“Yes,” Tim confirmed, “For my birthday last year my mom threw a big breakfast party. She made a point of only inviting people with kids my age. So Mr Davenport and Penny were invited.”

“I didn’t like the party,” Penny confessed, “It didn’t feel like a birthday party. We had to sit at a table and eat quietly and behave. All the food was grown-up food. I asked my dad to leave early. So he let me go home with Miss Lucy.”

“A lot of the kids left early,” Tim acknowledged, “I am not fun. I was a bad host. That’s why mom didn’t invite any kids during Christmas. She wanted me to grow up a bit more before asking me to host again.”

There was silence in the car. Jason started to say something, but Dick gestured him to stay silent. Tim didn’t understand what was going on. Even little Jon, who was clearly confused, was looking at Tim funny. Tim didn’t understand. Tim didn’t understand at all.

* * *

 

No one brought up Tim’s birthday again. A fact for which he was extremely grateful. Tim still couldn’t figure out why everyone went silent in the car. But he hadn’t had time to ask any questions, not that he knew what to ask. So Tim put it out of his mind as best he could and got on with the rest of his weekend.

The week that followed was normal enough. Tim went to school. Came home, did his homework. He spent time with the others, and all was well. He was happy. Before long, the awkward car ride had totally slipped his mind.

So he was completely taken aback when he came home Friday to a big cake and a large gift box. “Happy Birthday!”

“I know it’s a bit late,” replied Bruce, “But the boys insisted.”

“If it makes you feel less embarrassed,” Dick said with a grin, “We just wanted an excuse for more cake!”

“I… thank you,” replied Tim.

“Also, you don’t have to be the host,” Jason said.

“Yay, that’s dad’s job because he’s the adult,” Damian explained with the wisdom of a four-year-old.

Bruce grinned, “Why don’t you open your present?” he suggested when Tim was starting to look embarrassed.

 A camera, they got him a camera. A proper professional-grade digital camera with two lenses and a flash kit. “We didn’t know what to get you, but Jason pointed out that you liked to take photos. This is not a camera I would normally get a seven-year-old. But I think you can handle it,” Bruce explained.

“Thank you,” Tim replied, sincerely, “I’ll take good care of it.”

“I know you will,” Bruce said with a smile, “Now, let’s cut the cake!”

“Yay!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it was Jason's birthday on August 16th. Seemed like a good excuse to do a birthday chapter! I picked Hamlet as Jason's favourite play because in Red Hood: Lost Days there was a panel with Jason channelling Hamlet. 
> 
> Also, I have been seeing a lot of Tim birthday fics where his parents straight up ignore him or never celebrate his birthday. But I feel that totally misses who pre-N52 Janet and Jack Drake were. They were self-absorbed but not dumb. They would use Tim's birthday to increase their social standing. But I don't think they wouldn't mark his birthday at all. So that's the angel I decided to take.
> 
> Finally, once again, Penny Davenport is an original character but she's supposed to be the daughter of J. Devlin Davenport, who is a canon DC character from the 90s. J. Devlin Davenport was one of Bruce's rich friend and neighbour


	11. Benign Neglect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Do the rich know where their kids are doing?”

Bruce Wayne was Batman. It was not that difficult to figure out when you were living in his house. But Tim was doing the right thing and pretending to be oblivious. Tim’s room was one near Jason and Alfred. There were two stairwells linking the floor to the rest of the house. One stairwell was the main stairway and led down to the living area. It was the fancy stairs, as Jason liked to call it, and was clearly the one meant to be used by the family and their guests. The other stairwell led directly to the kitchen and was less fancy. It was meant to be used by servants.

 

Tim quickly noticed that Alfred locked the door to the fancy stairwell every night and kept it locked until it was time for the family to wake-up. Meaning that should Tim come downstairs during the night, he would have to go through the kitchen before he could access the rest of the house. The door to the kitchen stairwell was never locked, but Jason regaled him with stories of Alfred “apparating” into the kitchen to catch Jason with his hand in the cookie jar.

 

Tim took the hint and made sure to not leave the floor with his bedroom until he was sure the family was up and about, so could run interference in case he got too close to places he wasn’t supposed to get close to. But it was hard to pretend to be oblivious when Wally West forgot that Tim was there and used super-speed to play with Damian. At least Damian’s new pet, Goliath the Dragon Bat, could be explained away as an exotic pet that Bruce bought at considerable cost. After all, it wasn’t unheard of for rich people to use their wealth to get whatever they wanted.

 

“Kory Anders, a European model who was in the US on an exchange program from her school,” as Dick described his girlfriend when he introduced her to Tim was another story. 

 

She was clearly Princess Koriand’r, better known as Starfire from the Teen Titans. The Titans weren’t a secret. They did interviews. It was true that in street clothes and without glowing eyes, Kory would not attract attention. Given how bad most people were with faces when divorced from context, it was likely that most people wouldn’t make the connection between Koriand’r and the small-time Instagram model, “Kory Anders”. Tim would be happy to play along too if Dick and Kory weren’t in the habit of making out while flying! All Tim wanted to do was take a picture of the super moon. But instead, he ended up taking pictures of Dick and Kory kissing against the moon! 

 

It was exhausting to pretend to not notice. But all said and done, Tim was happy that the family were comfortable enough around him that they forgot they hadn’t told him they were superheroes. It was nice. So nice in fact, it didn’t occur to him how strange it was that he had spent four months in the home of his neighbour, without any significant contact between him and his parents beyond a very generic phone call every week. Unfortunately, the Gotham Gazette was not above latching on to the weirdness of Tim’s living situation.

 

It all went down over one weekend. The Wayne Foundation was hosting its yearly gala to raise money. As part of the PR push, Bruce Wayne allowed a reporter to interview him and his kids for the Gotham Gazette. It was an annual tradition. Something like a “State of the Waynes” address. The Gotham Gazette usually sent an up and coming reporter. It was a reward of sorts as the reporter was usually also invited to cover the actual gala. Most saw the chance to interview Bruce Wayne and his kids as a reward for their hard work to date.

 

Kitty Mason was not one of them. She felt a puff piece on a capitalist parasite was beneath her, but she also knew that she had to play the game. Despite what they showed in Hollywood movies, the confrontational journalists who marched up to people like Bruce Wayne to ask the “hard questions” never got anywhere. No, you had to ask the soft questions to lull them into a sense of security before you could ask the hard questions. That way, you actually got some answers and didn’t get thrown out.

 

So Kitty took on the Wayne Gala PR assignment with the goal of building a rapport with Bruce Wayne and through him, to his other rich friends. Kitty might hate the monied class. Especially those that inherited their wealth like Bruce Wayne. But she wasn’t an extremist. She simply wanted to hold the rich and powerful accountable. For that, she needed access.

 

So she sat with Bruce Wayne, resisted his charm and asked benign questions approved by her editor. Almost an hour and a half into the interview, the kids were let in with the family dog. Kitty smiled and asked more benign questions and then she smelt the story.

 

 It was an innocent enough comment, “It’s pretty fun living with three older brothers,” Damian was saying.

 

“Three?” Kitty zoomed in on the number like a homing missile.

 

“Oh, I guess Tim’s not really a brother,” Damian corrected himself, “But he lives with us. So maybe he is…” he trailed off as if he was trying to figure out Tim’s status.

 

“Tim?” wondered Kitty.

 

“Tim Drake, the son of Jack and Janet Drake, has been staying with us while his parents have been away,” Bruce explained, “He is one of Jason’s friends.”

 

“Yep!” Jason piped in, “He’s like my best friend! So it makes sense that Dami thinks of him as a brother too!’

 

“That’s very sweet! How long has Tim been staying with you guys?” Kitty prompted.

 

“Since his parents have been away,” Jason replied with a smile.

 

Kitty knew a deflection when she saw one. A part of her was impressed that a child as young as Jason was media trained enough to deflect so smoothly. There was clearly something here. But that something was likely a middle distance race. So she shifted gears and got back to the puff piece for the gala.

* * *

The gala went down without a hitch. Jack and Janet Drake made an appearance. They had flown in earlier that day to make the gala. They posed for pictures with their son during the early part of the evening when the kids were still around. But the kids were taken away by various nannies shortly after dinner. It didn’t escape Kitty’s notice that Tim retired into the interior of Wayne Manor with the Wayne kids. Was Tim going to stay at the manor again?

 

Sometime during the night, Kitty got an intoxicated Jack by himself and turned on the charm. She asked about his latest dig, his hectic travel and casually wondered how his son was coping.

 

“It’s been great!” Jack explained to her, “Wayne wanted a kid around Jason’s age to help him fit into our world. So we let him have Tim. He’s been staying here for… I don’t remember exactly, but it’s been a few months. He seems happy enough, and we don’t have to worry about the nanny doing coke again.”

 

“His nanny did coke?” she asked in a gasping shocked tone, “That’s horrible!”

 

“Oh yeah! We dropped in early and found her coked out of her mind after spending the night with her boyfriend, who wasn’t supposed to be there, obviously. Timmy was okay. He’s a good kid. Strong mentally and very able to take care of himself. He was making himself breakfast when we got there. But obviously, it’s better for all of us now that he gets to stay with the Waynes. We don’t have to worry about getting a nanny. He has Wayne’s help to look after him. It’s so great not to have to worry about him!”

 

“It must be!” Kitty replied with a smile as she wondered why Jack and Janet had bothered having a child when they clearly were not interested in raising him. But that was not a thought she was willing to voice out loud, yet!

* * *

Kitty wrote the puff piece for the Wayne Gala. As soon as that hit print, she dived into finding Drake’s old nanny. It didn’t take her long. She was disgruntled and ready to spill. After her, Kitty started tracking down other nannies that the Drake have had. The picture wasn’t pretty. The Drakes were borderline negligent parents. But it wasn’t that black and white. What the Drakes were doing, could be called “benign neglect”.  

 

At the end of the day, rich boy Tim Drake was better off with his parents then the overworked, underfunded foster care system. Although, given that Bruce Wayne was a registered foster carer, it could be argued that Tim was in the system. Because it was obvious to Kitty that Tim was effectively the foster son of Bruce Wayne. Physically and emotionally if not legally. 

 

So what to do now? Expose Jack and Janet? Problem was that it wasn’t a big enough story. But if she published it, the Gotham socialites would become weary around her. So she won’t get to expose something truly awful. In the end, Kitty changed names, got a few more stories of nannies gone wild,  and wrote a general article titled, “Do the rich know where their kids are doing?” But Janet knew, as soon as she read the story, she knew, and she wasn’t happy!

 

His parents were yelling at Bruce. Tim didn’t understand what was happening, but his parents had dropped in an announced waving their phones and demanding answers. He was causing Bruce problems. Because he was a problem.

 

“Don’t worry,” Jason assured him as the two of them crouched in the hallway just outside Bruce’s study, “Bruce knows what to do.”

 

Just as Jason said that the voices inside shifted. His father had gone quiet as his mother kept yelling. With only one voice speaking, Tim could finally make out what was being said. “Were you flirting or were you just drunk? Did you really think you could get in her pants by airing dirty laundry!”

 

“Come on, Janet! I was just drunk! I wasn’t thinking. How was I supposed to know she was going to write a story about a coked-up nanny? I mean, it can’t have been that unusual. Kids are hard, you need a bit of help to get through the day. I bet you drink all the time, Bruce, what with having a full house and all!”

 

Tim cringed. This was embarrassing. His father was embarrassing himself. Tim got it. He wasn’t someone his parents wanted to spend time with. But he was sure they weren’t supposed to say that out loud.

 

“No,” came the cold reply, “I get very little time with my kids. I like to be in control of all my senses so that I can enjoy what little time I have with them fully.”

 

“Please stop talking,” Tim silently begged of his parents, “Let’s just go home. You can send me to boarding school. I promise I won’t complain. Just, please, stop, just stop!”

 

“It’s all your fault!” Janet screeched again.

 

There was a loud noise as if someone had slammed the desk, “This is not getting us anywhere,” it was Bruce, but he was using a tone Tim didn’t recognise.

 

“That’s his Batman voice,” Jason whispered. Tim blinked, “What? I figured, you figured it out,” he said with a grin, “I mean, you would have to try to be oblivious with Dick’s redheads running around the manor.”

 

Tim smiled but didn’t say anything, focusing instead on what Bruce was saying.

 

“Tim can stay here. It’s not a problem. You should put this article out of your mind, Janet. You recognised yourselves, but I doubt anyone else will. But if you try to do anything, it will backfire by drawing attention. So just ignore the article, and let us all get on with our lives.”

 

“Why are you so eager to keep Tim?” there was a hint of suspicion in his mother’s voice that Tim didn’t like at all.

 

“He is good company for Jason,” Bruce replied smoothly, “My son Dick is spending more and more of his time away from the manor with other teens his age. Damian is too young to be the perfect playmate for Jason,” Bruce explained, “Sadly, I am busier than I care to be. So it is invaluable to me that Tim spends time with Jason. Also, it seems to me that Tim appreciates Jason’s companionship too. He is a sociable little boy.”

 

Thankfully, his parents were placated. They left but not before his mom lectured him about contacting them if things got uncomfortable in the manor. Tim got the hint. Janet was finally beginning to wonder if there was something to the stories floating around about Bruce Wayne and pretty boys. 

 

Tim tried not to roll his eyes. It was so stupid. But he kept himself together and assured his mother he would let her know if there were any issues. His parents left. Tim breathed a sigh of relief, but it wasn’t the same. The Wayne family had been nothing but kind to Tim. But Tim had caused them trouble, and Tim just knew it was only a matter of time before they decided they have had enough of him.


	12. Illness

The manor was under quarantine. All the boys were sick. Jason, Damian and Tim were temporarily relocated into Bruce bedroom so they could share a bed. Dick was in his room, and being lovingly taken care of by his girlfriend. The rest of the kids were being primarily cared for by Damian's nanny, Fortuna. 

 

Fortuna was mute because the Joker once slashed her throat deep enough to damage her larynx. She walked with a limp because the Black Mask's thugs beat her black and blue. She also had burns on her body from a Firefly attack, when she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But she had survived, caught the attention of Batman, who brought her to the Manor to look after Damian. 

 

No one was sure if she knew Bruce was Batman. She kept her contact with Alfred and Bruce to a minimum. She had her own kitchenette in the converted walk-in closet in Damian's playroom. So she had no reason to interact with the adults. 

 

"What do you want to eat?" she signed to Damian. 

 

"I don't know," whined Damian. 

 

"Congee," Tim asked tentatively, he still wasn't sure how much he could demand of Fortuna and Alfred, "They always have that in the anime I watch."

 

"Mac and cheese!" demanded Jason. 

 

"Last time I was sick, mama was with me. She made me white rice and we mixed it with lemon, butter and salt. It was delicious! I want that!" 

 

"Not very healthy choices but I will make those for now," Fortuna signed, "But at dinner, you have to have vegetables."

 

"Okay!" the boys said in unison. 

 

"Did you text your parents?" Fortuna signed to Tim. 

 

Tim shook his head. He was well taken care of, there was no reason to bother them. Fortuna did not insist but signed that he shouldn't hesitate if he rather be with them. She seemed to be under the impression that Jack and Janet would fly back ASAP if they heard Tim was sick. Clearly, she didn't pay attention to the other adults around her at all. 

 

"Why can't Dick stay with us too?" demanded Damian. 

 

"Too old, not appropriate. He wants his girlfriend to look after him," she signed back before leaving to make lunch. 

 

"I want Dick!" Damian kept whining, "Fortuna is mean! She doesn't like Dick because he's almost an adult! She's keeping him from us!" 

 

"Damian, no!" Jason snapped, "Dick just wants to cuddle with Kory."

 

"I want him to cuddle with me!" 

 

"I'll text Dick after lunch, okay? Please don't be mean to Fortuna," Jason said. 

 

Damian dropped the topic. But Tim could tell he was still upset. "Is it really a big deal if we send Damian to Dick’s room?” he wondered.

 

“Dick’s about the age when a lot of Narrows boys joins a gang,” Jason explained, “Some of the people who weren’t very nice to Fortuna were probably close to Dick’s age.”

 

Tim didn’t say anything more. Instead, tried to distract Damian with games or offering to read to him. Damian remained broody and pouty but didn’t protest more until after lunch. So Jason did what he promised and texted Dick.

 

“Hey, Dami,” Dick said as he stumbled into the room. He looked as if the short track from his room took a mountain of effort.

 

“Dick!” Damian put up his hands, clearly wanting to be picked up and cuddled.

 

Dick sort of stumbled to the bed, and tried not to fall completely on top of Damian. “Where’s Kory?” Jason wondered.

 

“She had to fly back to New York to take care of a few things,” Dick said as he made himself comfortable on the bed and cuddled around Damian, “B needs a bigger bed.”

 

“Bed is plenty big,” Jason replied, “You are just getting too big!”

 

“Hmm… nap time li’l D,” said Dick with a yawn. Soon, all the boys fell asleep.

“WHY THE HELL IS HE IN WAYNE’S ROOM!”

 

Tim woke with a jerk. He had been dreaming about his parents having an argument. But the raised voices didn’t go away with his sleep. They only got louder and nearer.

 

“WHY THE FUCK AREN’T YOU SAYING ANYTHING!” that was his dad!

 

Tim jumped out of the bed even as Dick was shaking sleep out of his eyes and Jason startled awake from his sleep. Tim ran out into the hall to find Fortuna cowering against the wall as his father screamed at her face. She was frozen, because it wasn’t fright or flight. It was fright, flight, friend or freeze and Fortuna’s reaction to confrontation was to freeze.

 

“Dad!” Tim screamed, “She can’t speak! She’s mute! What’s going on? What are you doing here?”

 

“Tim!” Janet came up to him, “Are you alright?”

 

“I am fine. I just have the flu. Why are you here?”

 

“We arrived early,” Janet explained as Jack backed off from Fortuna, who remained frozen against the wall, “So we thought we would come to get you and go out for dinner. The maid let us in and said that Pennyworth was away. It was the maid who told us you were in Bruce’s bedroom! So we rushed up and this, this sorry excuse for a nanny tried to stop us!”

 

Tim was so angry, “I am in Bruce’s room with Jason and Damian! We are all sick so we were kept together so we could keep each other company. What did you think was happening?”

 

“Now don’t take that tone with me, young man,” Janet admonished, “It’s just weird for you to be in the bed of a grown man. So, of course, we reacted badly to the news.”

 

“It’s not weird for Jason and Damian to be in their dad’s bed! And it’s not weird for me to share a bed with my friends! It’s not like Bruce is in bed with us. It’s just us,” Tim replied. He was so annoyed and embarrassed.

 

“Well, all she had to do was explain!” Janet replied, glaring at Fortuna, who was beginning to move and sign her apologies.

 

“Enough!” It was Dick, his voice was weak but calm and cold and full of authority, “Mr and Mrs Drake,” he said, firmly and decisively but Tim could see that Dick was covering up just how weak and exhausted he was, “Tim will always be welcome in Wayne Manor. We love having him here. We love him and think of him as a brother. But you need to decide if you trust our father or not. Because today was unacceptable!”

 

“No!” Tim thought, “It’s happening! Dick is done with me. My parents have worn out our welcome!”   
  


“I mean, how would you…”

 

“It’s tradition in this house that if we are sick together, we pile into Bruce’s room and bed so that we can keep each other company and comfort,” Dick continued, not letting Jack Drake finish, “We don’t expect you to know that but we do expect you to not jump to sick conclusions IF you truly trust us to look after Tim and do right by him. Because if you don’t, well, why is he here?”

 

“No, Dick! No! Please don’t throw me out!” Tim wanted to scream but he kept quiet.

 

Janet seemed to be struggling to reply. “Why are you crying?” she suddenly snapped turning towards Tim.

 

It was then that Tim noticed that tears were dripping down his cheeks, “I don’t want to go!” he suddenly said, “Mom, Dad, please! Just leave! I am tired. I just want to go back to bed with Jason and Damian. Have my medicine and go to sleep.”

 

“Wouldn’t you rather come back home and have your mom look after you?’ even as Jack said that Tim could see that Janet wasn’t pleased about being volunteered to look after Tim.

 

“No! You probably have a lot of work anyway,” Tim replied, “I want to stay here. Fortuna is great! She makes good congee.”

 

“Well, I want you home!” snapped Jack.

 

Tim couldn’t stop himself anymore. He started crying harder and louder He couldn’t have stopped himself no matter how hard he tried and he didn’t want to try anymore.

 

“Oh enough of his nonsense!” Janet said finally, “We apologize for the misunderstanding,” she said to Fortuna, “You are clearly not fit for company, Tim. But call us when you are calmer. Come along Jack.”

 

“But!”

 

“We’ll talk in the car!”

 

Tim didn’t remember much after his parents cleared the narrow hallway. Somehow, he ended up back in bed. He cried until he fell asleep. When he awoke, Bruce was back.

 

“What’s going to happen to me!” was the first thing he asked.

 

Bruce sighed and adjusted his hold. It was then that Tim noticed that Damian was snuggling in Bruce’s arm, “I spoke to your parents at length. They were not happy about many things, including Fortuna. But they understand you prefer to stay here then go back to your old routine or go to a boarding school. They have agreed to leave things be for now. They assure me that they do indeed trust me.”

 

“I don’t believe them!” Jason injected from behind Tim.

 

“I don’t believe them either,” Bruce acknowledged, “But it is what it is. Jack and Janet do want what’s best for Tim. For now, they are happy that Tim is happy. It us leave it at that.”

 

Tim curled up into a ball and started crying again. But this time, it was from relief!


	13. The Long Awaited Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason finally visits his maternal grandparents

“Are you sure you want me to be there?” asked Tim, as he fidgeted in his car seat a bit nervously.

“Of course!” Jason replied, “I want my grandparents to meet you, Damian, and Ace!”

Ace barked from his place in the boot of the SUV but Damian didn’t reply on account of having fallen asleep. Jason grinned, “I wanted Dick too of course. But he’s always too busy with his Titan friends,” he added annoyed, “But I can’t wait for Dick. My uncle made it clear that my grandmother needed to see me sooner rather than later, if ever.”

“Thanks,” replied Tim quietly, “I am glad to be included.”

Jason grinned and turned back towards the road. He was nervous. He had decided months ago that he wanted to see his mother’s family. He didn’t blame them for what happened to her. He always knew it was her choice to start taking drugs and her choice to not seek help. From what little she told him while she yet lived, Catherine’s parents had done the best they could to give her a good start at life. But Catherine was attracted to the risky side of life. She loved the thrill of being where she wasn’t supposed to be, for talking with the local bad influence and once Willis Todd started selling to her, she didn’t have a chance in hell at a normal life.

So Jason didn’t have any bad feelings towards his mother’s family. He understood that his mother hadn’t remained in contact with them. So he didn’t expect them to come rescue them when they were struggling. But someone had rescued them. So all he wanted them to know that he was happy, he had a family and so whatever concern they had for him, they could put aside.

The house his grandparents lived in was a tiny, easy to maintain but somewhat older style home that many preferred in retirement. Even though Alfred had brought the most understated of the Wayne SUVs, it still stood out on account of being an Audi. But it was also a neighbourhood where that didn’t matter. Because it was a safe neighbourhood. The neighbourhood was a far cry from Gotham Heights, where Wayne Manor exists. But it was also a far cry from the crime alley apartment Jason’s mother couldn’t afford.

“Master Damian, it’s time to wake-up,” Alfred said as he gently woke-up Damian as Tim and Jason let Ace out of the back.

Jason took hold of Ace’s collar as his uncle came to meet them outside, “Thanks for coming,” he told Jason, “Thank you for bringing him, Mr Pennyworth. Mr Wayne couldn’t make it?” he asked, “My parents were hoping to meet him. You know, so they could be sure Jason was in good hands.”

“Master Bruce had a last-minute engagement come-up,” replied Alfred.

“Also, Bruce can be intimidating,” replied Jason, “But I brought the rest of my family. This is Ace,” Ace barked in greeting, “And my little brothers Damian and Tim.”

Damian groggily offered a greeting. Tim’s reply was started and loud, “Hello!”

“Nice to meet you all,” Jason’s uncle said as he ushered them inside.

“Brother?” Tim whispered to Jason.

“You’re more a foster brother these days, so it’s all good!” Jason whispered back with a smile.

Tim nodded, not ready to examine the feeling in his chest at Jason’s declaration. Not that he had time. Because soon, they were led into a cosy living room where an elderly couple sat holding hands on a two-seater sofa.

“You look just like your mother,” the woman whispered just as Jason entered.

“Thanks!” Jason replied sincerely. He had loved his mother, a lot. Even if she was always opting to check out from the world with the help of drugs, “I miss her,” Jason admitted.

“We miss her too,” replied the old man, “She was a happy kid. She just… couldn’t stay that way,” there was a pause that no one seemed to know how to fill but the man spoke back up, “But I am sure, you’ll have better teenage years then our poor Catherine.”

Jason grinned, “Thanks! I know I will!”

“Come sit,” the old woman said, getting up to usher them to the mismatched empty chairs around placed around the coffee table, “And tell me all about your,” she stopped as if to gather her emotions. Her expression was a bit pained but accepting as she continued, “Family. Tell us about your family.”

Jason took a seat and waited for the others to also be seated. Before he started to talk about his life at the manor and Gotham, with all his friends and family!

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this is the end of this verse. I wanted to tie up the one thing I setup but never addressed from way back in Chapter 7. You guys can assume Tim continued to be defacto fostered by the Wayne family. Damian finally gets the green light to get more pets and Jason remains happy and healthy. Thanks for reading!


End file.
